The Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology has been awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission of $500,000 to support the school’s expansion project. All in all, so far the Academy has secured over $7 million in state and federal funding to construct a heavy equipment/diesel technician training facility, which will be built at their existing campus on Pitt Street in Lewistown. The latest cash infusion created by the ARC funds will be used to purchase the heavy equipment needed for the new programs. The Academy’s partnering employers estimate that they will be able to create 24 new jobs collectively in the first year that trainees are available. In total, these employers anticipate that during the nine-year analysis period, approximately 125 new jobs will be created, and 15 jobs will be retained.